The Martian

The Martian – 141min – PG13

Matt Damon is back in space and this time he has to find a way to survive on Mars for as long as it’s going to take to get a rescue mission to him. This movie is a great example of how an engaging story can let the time slip by unnoticed. It is also a great examination of the human spirit and the ingenuity of a person who makes a choice to survive. This is such a great movie, I am taking my son to go see it today. A green light film should have production value, spectacular performances and be engaging. This move has all of that.

The manned mission to Mars is interrupted by a storm and the crew gets the evacuation orders. During the evacuation, Mark Watney (MattDamon) is struck by debris his communication and vitals monitoring systems are destroyed. Believing that he has died the crew go on with the evacuation and start their four month journey back to earth. He wakes up alone, on Mars with limited resources he now has to find a way to survive.

Some standout performances were Jeff Daniels who spectacularly played the Director of NASA. Chiwetel Ejiofor was again unfairly outperforming everyone on screen with him. Sean Bean does not die in this movie and it’s nice to see him finish a film without a death scene. Jessica Chastain shines as the captain of the mars mission. Really the entire cast all had strong performances but these were the ones that I truly enjoyed. There wasn’t a weak or miscast player in this production.

Not being an astronaut or a botanist I have to say from the laymen’s view, the science works out just fine. I enjoyed watching the science unfold and how math and engineering and a team effort helped Mark survive. The choice he made to survive and how he did it was also a great life lesson. You are going to die unless you solve this problem, solve it and move to the next problem. The specter of death was always present but the ingenuity and drive of a man’s will to survive can overcome many obstacles.

Neal deGrasse Tyson gave his blessing on keeping the science accurate in a series of tweets. I think his approval of the film validates that a movie can be entertaining and accurate. What it gives me as a viewer is the thought of I could do that. Nothing Watney does  is fantasy or fudged to make it a better story. Science is entertaining as it is.

Not seeing the 3D version I am unable to comment if if it added to the experience. I know that for some films 3D is more of a distraction and takes away from the story. When it is applied as a gimmick it almost never ends well. I may have to go and check it out to see if my hypothesis is correct. I’ll let you know if the 3D is better than a regular showing.

I saw the 3D version and it added a little depth (pun intended)  but not enough to forgo the normal theatrical release.

The other effects in the film were done with care and don’t scream out that a CGI effect has been done. Mark’s emaciated body toward the end of the film as well as the floating debris in space blends in so well that they all enhance the imagery without drawing attention to themselves.

Mark’s sense of humor helps him a lot in the weeks and months alone. He makes logs to keep a chronicle of his journey and Matt Damon embodies that character well. His touches of sarcasm and mental acuity are played well that gives Mark a charm that draws you into his plight and engages you in his survival. You want him to live because you fall in love with how down to Mars he is.

I have been ordered to read the book by a friend who says that the book as a lot of humor in it. As I understand it there are a number of cut scenes. There are a lot more of Matt Damon cracking wise in character for the camera. I can’t wait for the blue ray to come out so I can see them.

What blue ray release have you waited for in hopes of great extra features? 

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues "Super-sized Version"

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues - 119+ min - Not Rated

It is not a surprise that I am not a fan of this kind of humor. I reviewed this on Netflix for Web Wombat. They did an outstanding job it was good work, just not my thing. Steve Carell has to be my favorite part with Kristen Wig.  Will Ferrell is hit or miss with me I do like him in some stuff.

The one cool thing about this is that it is a different move from the theatrical release. If you enjoyed that version you have to see this one, because its the same film only not. Just watch it you’ll see.

What was your favorite part?

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

The secret life of Walter Mitty - 114min – PG

I am not a huge Ben Stiller fan; most of his work is either hit or miss with me (mostly miss). This movie speaks to me. I truly enjoyed the message this story tells. There are some mild problems with the way this story is told but I really love the characters. The message of stop dreaming and start living are what resonate most with me. This is such a strong message, I hope people will not be bogged down by technical details. When it comes to movies that touch my heart, I am an easy sell for a green light. Go ahead and hate me for it but I can’t help loving this movie and what it stands for.

Walter (Ben Stiller) is a man who for the past 16 years has worked for LIFE magazine. They are going through a transition from a print publication to an online publication. He is in charge of prepping the cover picture for the last issue ever printed. There is a problem: the negative for the picture is missing. Walter has to take action find the missing slide.

Walter lost his father when he was a teenager and has been responsible for helping provide for his family and has never really had his own life. To escape reality he spends long moments standing in a daze lost in a daydream of what he would like to have happen.

Walter has a crush on Cheryl (Kristen Wiig), a woman from work. She uses an online dating service and he joins the same dating company hoping to use it to connect. When he tries to contact her through the sight he gets an error message because he doesn’t have anything in his profile. He contacts support where Todd (Patton Oswalt) from the customer service department helps him fill out his online form. It’s through Todd’s eyes we see Walter’s inadvertent growth from dreamer to doer. Todd really understands the change he sees in Walter. I think it would be very therapeutic to meet Mr. Oswalt in an airport and have a Cinnabon and some words of encouragement.

Kristen Wiig vexes me. I disliked her work on SNL because she was never very funny to me. At times her skit characters were painful to watch. However on the big screen, I completely fall in love with her. She shines with honest feelings and natural beauty. She is pure cinema gold. Ms. Wiig, please don’t ever make a SNL based move on your characters. Keep doing new stuff because you are talented.

This is directed by Ben Stiller and you can see his passion for this story come through in his acting and the overall emotion of the film. Most critics aren’t going to like it because of story problems, but I think they are not looking at the soul of the film. I acknowledge the problems but I love the message so I had to write this up right after watching it. Of course it took me about a month to post it but that’s beside the point.

The central message is that we try very hard to look for the things that are meaningful in our loves ever if they are hidden in the secret pockets of our wallets. This is not a spoiler because it’s completely telegraphed in the movie. I don’t think that it was poor storytelling; I think this was obvious on purpose. The journey of the story is more important than the destination. Walter learns a lot on this trip and we make a connection to him because he does what want to do, learn his place in this world. Kind of like us, we don’t need to travel the world to find the answers we are looking for. Our answers are right here, in our country, our states, and towns and even in our own homes.

The underlying message with this film is we need to break out of the rut life puts us in. Try something new, have the courage to make connections with other people. Eat at a new locally owned restaurant you drive past almost every day. Go out to the farmers market try some fresh food and look at handmade crafts. Look at your community and see if there are new cultural events around that will expose you to a new culture, take a martial arts class in an art you have always wanted to study. It doesn't matter what you do, it just matters you do something.

I might be reading way too much into this, but that’s the impression this movie left with so I am going to take a chapter out of Walter’s book and go have dinner at a new place tonight and then go explore some parts of the town I don’t normally see. And book a flight to India. Yes you can look around locally at changing your life, but why not go big? Wish me luck.